Newcastle - Fern Avenue Residents

We received this from Cllr Armstrong following the AGM

HMOs - Planning and Licensing

Planning Law places HMOs with up to 6 residents and family houses in the same use class

C3 Dwellinghouses - Family houses, or houses occupied by up to six residents living together as a single household, including a household where care is provided for residents.

This means that no planning permission is needed to change a family house into an HMO with up to 6 residents. Case law as applied means that 7 or 8 residents in an HMO is often accepted by a planning inspector as not requiring planning permission. Generally with 9 or more residents planning permission for an HMO will be required. In Northern Ireland these regulations have been amended so that planning permission is required to change the use of property from single occupancy to an HMO, IRRESPECTIVE of the number of residents in the HMO.

Planning permission may be required for conversion of a loft into bedrooms,especially in upper Tyneside flats, irrespective of the number of residents and it is this which will be targeted in the revised SPD.

The Housing Act 2004 defines an HMO as any dwelling with 3 or more unrelated persons living together ie the definition is not the same as the definition in Planning Law. For 5 or more tenants on 3 or more floors the landlord must apply for a licence. He must be given a licence so long as he and the property meet the local requirements ie those drawn up by the City.

Created on /06/12/2006 10:29 PM by pcooper
Updated on /16/02/2007 09:07 PM by pcooper